Badenoch: Climate change is real, net zero by 2050 is fiction
Conservative leader labels 2050 carbon neutrality goal a 'political fiction' while vowing to expand North Sea drilling.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has reaffirmed her commitment to scrapping the United Kingdom's net zero target, characterizing the 205ing carbon-neutrality goal as a "political fiction" that is actively bankrupting the nation.
In a letter to The Telegraph, Badenoch argued that maintaining the current trajectory is economically unsustainable and serves only to increase carbon emissions by necessitating greater reliance on foreign fossil fuel imports.
Responding to criticism from The Telegraph's world economy editor, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard—who suggested her stance flirted with "climate nihilism" amidst raging wildfires in France and Spain—Badenoch maintained that while climate change is a reality, the current transition plan is fundamentally flawed.
She specifically criticized the ban on new North Sea drilling, asserting that such restrictions destroy British industry and replace low-carbon domestic production with higher-emission imports.
Badenoch's policy shift represents a significant reversal of nearly a decade of Conservative support for net zero legislation originally enacted under Theresa May. Her platform now emphasizes extracting maximum oil and gas from the North Sea, emulating Norway’s economic model, and removing green levies on energy to reduce bills for households and businesses.
This includes an intention to axe various net zero subsidies.
The leadership's internal discipline has also been tested; Badenoch confirmed she will not apologize for barring candidates who do not align with her new environmental stance.
This follows reports that former Cabinet minister Sir Grant Shapps was among those excluded from consideration, despite not openly disagreeing with the party's direction.
While Evans-Pritchard acknowledged that her North Sea policy is "defensible," he argued that market conservatives should instead focus on outcompeting fossil fuels through cleaner technology rather than retreating from climate objectives altogether.
In a letter to The Telegraph, Badenoch argued that maintaining the current trajectory is economically unsustainable and serves only to increase carbon emissions by necessitating greater reliance on foreign fossil fuel imports.
Responding to criticism from The Telegraph's world economy editor, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard—who suggested her stance flirted with "climate nihilism" amidst raging wildfires in France and Spain—Badenoch maintained that while climate change is a reality, the current transition plan is fundamentally flawed.
She specifically criticized the ban on new North Sea drilling, asserting that such restrictions destroy British industry and replace low-carbon domestic production with higher-emission imports.
Badenoch's policy shift represents a significant reversal of nearly a decade of Conservative support for net zero legislation originally enacted under Theresa May. Her platform now emphasizes extracting maximum oil and gas from the North Sea, emulating Norway’s economic model, and removing green levies on energy to reduce bills for households and businesses.
This includes an intention to axe various net zero subsidies.
The leadership's internal discipline has also been tested; Badenoch confirmed she will not apologize for barring candidates who do not align with her new environmental stance.
This follows reports that former Cabinet minister Sir Grant Shapps was among those excluded from consideration, despite not openly disagreeing with the party's direction.
While Evans-Pritchard acknowledged that her North Sea policy is "defensible," he argued that market conservatives should instead focus on outcompeting fossil fuels through cleaner technology rather than retreating from climate objectives altogether.
